Finding Confidence in Yourself

by Debbie

Finding confidence in yourself opens you up to a world of opportunities that you never knew existed.

I have realized that as you gain more confidence in yourself, things work out better for you. You may not realize it but a lack of self-confidence can cost you. There are opportunities that you will miss out on because you lack the confidence to pursue them. It is therefore extremely important to learn how to have confidence in yourself.

Do you have confidence in yourself?

Let’s look at the two kinds of confidence you need and how to have confidence in yourself.

1. Have Confidence in Who You Are

The first kind of confidence you need is confidence in who you are. You need to believe in who you are as a person, believe in your core values, in your goals, and in your dreams.

Stay grounded in your core values. Being grounded helps you to be confident in yourself. Having this confidence sets you free to be authentic. And authenticity attracts opportunities and relationships.

You cannot operate at your highest potential without having this confidence.

It does not matter what other people think about you, what you think about yourself is the key. Identify your big WHY, which is the reason you do the things you do. That becomes the engine that fuels your life. It is your constant source of motivation even when doubt tries to creep in.

I am most confident when I am in touch with my values. It is important that every morning I remind myself who I am. When you wake up in the morning face the mirror and repeat positive affirmations to yourself. These will set you off in a positive tone and boost your confidence for the day.

What do you believe about yourself?

Take a moment to think about something positive about yourself. If you can find 5 more things you like about yourself that is even better. Those are the things that you use to boost your confidence.

You boost your confidence by focusing on your strengths, not your weaknesses

It is unfortunate that many people have nothing good to say about themselves. This is not because of their lack of good qualities, but because they focus on their weaknesses more. What you focus on you amplify. So if you are focusing on your weaknesses you are going to end up feeling like a loser. In the process, you lose your confidence. Just stop it, it is not worth it.

Start focusing on your strengths. No one is perfect, everyone has weaknesses but some people choose to focus on what they are good at. That is what you need to do. Amplify your strengths. You remember the things you thought about earlier? Those things you like about yourself? Yes, those are the ones you should be focusing on.

If you want other people to believe in you then you have to start by believing in yourself. Stop doubting yourself. You have a uniqueness in you that makes you attractive. You may not appeal to everyone but when you are confident you attract the right people.

Do not compare yourself with the neighbor and try to be like them. If you try to be someone else, you are going to fail terribly. You have no idea how best to be like them and you are going to be constantly wondering whether you are doing it well enough. Can you stop comparing yourself, please? Be true to yourself, that’s when you are at your best.

To gain confidence you need to give up the need for validation

You will not always find the validation you need and want. The best thing you can do for yourself is to do away with that need for validation. Learn to be self-motivated, to be confident in your own skin. Own the space you have with confidence even when no one else is watching.

You don’t have to make everyone happy, just do your thing and do it with excellence. The moment you stop caring what other people think and start minding your own business you will find your space. Instead of aiming for perfection, aim for excellence and mastery in your craft.

Perfection is a shifting goal post.

2. Have Confidence in Your Skills and Abilities

The second kind of confidence you need to have is confidence in your skills and abilities. I remember my first gig as a freelance writer, I was not very confident in myself. I had many uncertainties that lowered my confidence but I finally decided to do it anyway.

Imagine my surprise when the client happily accepted my work with no issues. I was thrilled. Looking back, I have no idea why I ever doubted my abilities in the first place. The truth is, you learn, you grow and your skills improve as you keep doing it. The best way to be good at something is to do it over and over.

For you to be able to build your skills, you have to start

You may not be very confident when starting out on something new, do it anyway. What seems like a daunting task at the beginning becomes easier with time and practice. Your skills develop as you learn on the job.

You will also find that once you start taking action and putting yourself out there, there are people who will appreciate your efforts. It does not matter what service/product you are offering. As long as you are giving it your best and offering good quality someone will appreciate it. But you have to build your own confidence to start when no one knows what is going on behind the scenes.

Stop overthinking

Overthinking is a big deal for many people and many times it can make you doubt yourself. What if something goes wrong? There are no guarantees of what the outcome will be except those that you give yourself. Stop overthinking and start the work. The challenges will be there but you will overcome them.

The only thing standing between you and your success is you. Get out of your own way and start working on whatever it is you need to do today.

Finally, feed your confidence

Maintaining your self-confidence is not always easy. There are times things will happen that knock you down. Someone may make an insensitive comment about you or discredit your work. What do you do when that happens? Do not allow people’s comments to put you down. Build your own motivation system and use it to feed your confidence.

Remember those things you like about yourself that we talked about earlier? They will come in handy at this point again.

Make the choice to be confident daily. Do not be afraid to fail, keep your head high and your chin up because you know your value. The naysayers may rattle you but they can’t run you off, of course, unless you let them – don’t.

Affirm yourself, choose positive thoughts every day and rise up every time life knocks you down. The more you do it, the more your confidence grows. You will never know what’s on the other side if you don’t step out with confidence.

About the Author Debbie is passionate about personal growth and helping people discover their highest potential. At Streaks of Light, her goal is to help you overcome self-doubt, conquer your fears, become confident and crush your goals. You can have the life you desire, if only you believe and take action. Join her on this journey and live your best life now.

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